Genetic analysis of inbreeding of two strains of the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus.

Haemonchus contortus is a sheep parasitic nematode that causes severe economic losses. Previous studies have indicated a high degree of genetic heterogeneity, which is hardly affected by selection for drug resistance. As a tool for the analysis of the population dynamics of H.

Hybridization of banteng (Bos javanicus) and zebu (Bos indicus) revealed by mitochondrial DNA, satellite DNA, AFLP and microsatellites.

Hybridization between wild and domestic bovine species occurs worldwide either spontaneously or by organized crossing. We have analysed hybridization of banteng (Bos javanicus) and zebu (Bos indicus) in south-east Asian cattle using mitochondrial DNA (PCR-RFLP and sequencing), AFLP, satellite fragment length polymorphisms (SFLP or PCR-RFLP of satellite DNA) and microsatellite genotyping. The Indonesian Madura zebu breed is reputed to be of hybrid zebu-banteng origin, but this has never been documented and Bali cattle are considered to be a domesticated form of banteng.

Phylogeny of bovine species based on AFLP fingerprinting.

The Bovini species comprise both domestic and wild cattle species. Published phylogenies of this tribe based on mitochondrial DNA contain anomalies, while nuclear sequences show only low variation. We have used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting in order to detect variation in loci distributed over the nuclear genome.

Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis of genetic diversity of Haemonchus contortus during selection for drug resistance.

For the first time we used amplified fragment length polymorphism on individual nematode parasites to analyse the genetic diversity between and within isolates during consecutive stages of increased benzimidazole resistance and of increased levamisole resistance of Haemonchus contortus. The genetic diversity of the H. contortus genome turned out to be unusually high, within and between the isolates.

Microsatellite diversity of isolates of the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus.

The alarming development of anthelmintic resistance in important gastrointestinal nematode parasites of man and live-stock is caused by selection for specific genotypes. In order to provide genetic tools to study the nematode populations and the consequences of anthelmintic treatment, we isolated and sequenced 59 microsatellites of the sheep and goat parasite Haemonchus contortus. These microsatellites consist typically of 2-10 tandems CA/GT repeats that are interrupted by sequences of 1-10 bp.